The Board

Business Owner
Sedalia MO

Andrew Treuner is a lifelong resident of Sedalia - " a great place to call home ". His wife ,Mary, and he have 3 beautiful daughters - they take after their Mother ;) He is the second generation owner of Robert A. Treuner Masonry Company, established in 1969 in Sedalia. Local Architect, Don Buller, invited Andrew to join the Liberty Center board some 30 years ago. He has, since, spent 6 years serving. As fate would have it, he, again, joined the Board in 2018 to fulfill Don's term. Good things are happening at the Hayden Liberty Center - check us out!

"Can you see it . . . think about it." ~62ART

SFCC Art Instructor
Sedalia MO

Don Luper received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from the University of Missouri. He's been an Art instructor at State Fair Community College for 30 years. When not teaching at the college, Don has been and remains a working artist. His work is featured in multiple collections throughout the United States. Don has been an active board member for 5 years.

"A painting is not a picture of an experience but is the experience." ~Mark Rothko

Business Owner
Sedalia MO

A native St. Louisan, Gena Hawkins Swearingen came to Sedalia after marrying her husband, Stafford, back in 1995. Her mother-in-law was one of the co-founders of the Sedalia Community Theater, so it was inevitable that the Liberty Center would remain integral in her and her family's life. Gena and two of her three children have been in multiple shows over the years. She served as treasurer of the board back in early 2000 and is back at it again as their secretary.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the WORLD." ~Einstein

Business Owner
Sedalia MO

Joe Fischer is a father of four brilliant and beautiful daughters as well as managing member of TARA Industries, a renewable fuels company, and Prairie Hollow Development Company, a real estate development company. Having been raised in Sedalia, he graduated from Central Missouri State University with a BSBA in Marketing and Management and worked for Castle and Cooke, Inc. for 5 years after graduation. He owned and operated concrete plants in eight markets as well as a Burlington limestone quarry in West Central Missouri.

"The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live." ~ Auguste Rodin

Retired Drama Teacher
Sedalia MO

Jan Bahner has been involved in theatre for so long, she's forgotten how to write a bio! From her first role at Smith-Cotton at age 16 (Essie, You Can't Take It with You) to her most recent back-to-back directorial efforts (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown for Sacred Heart School and Too Much Light for LCAA), Jan has had a long and varied life on and around the stage. Jan would like to thank all of you - and her husband Richard - for enabling her applause addiction!

"The role of the artist is to ask questions, not to answer them." ~Anton Chekhov

Volunteer
Sedalia MO

Karen Pozzo Ellebracht grew up on The Hill in St. Louis. She has been married to Steve for 43
years. A former chemical technician, Karen became a stay-at-home mom when her first of six children was born. In Texas, Karen volunteered at the community theatre which allowed her to experience the important benefit of having an arts center in town. Art has always interested Karen since she was a young child, from sketching her stuffed animals, to loving her college art class, to bits of her children's school art decorating her home.

"Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." ~Pablo Picasso

City Council/Business Owner
Sedalia MO

Liberty Center has always held a very important place in Rhiannon Foster's heart. Her first appearance on this stage was when she was 2 years old dancing in her mother's Red Hots Dance Studio Recital. Her parents, Gregg & Suzanne Foster, both had deep connections to our theatre and art community at Liberty Center starting before she was born. Rhiannon was at Liberty Center more than home for years while performing, practicing & working on countless productions. She is honored to be a member of the Liberty Center Board and is extremely proud of the fantastic projects Liberty Center has in the works. The Arts in our community are vital.

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." ~ Maya Angelou

Radio Personality
Sedalia, MO

Ruthie has worked in professional and community theatre, both on stage and off, for most of her life. A native of St. Louis, she moved to Sedalia in 2004. She hosts middays on KPOW and afternoons on KDRO radio. Ruthie enjoys canoeing, fishing, arts and crafts and spending time with her family and friends.

"Better keep yourself clean and bright, you are the window through which you must see the world". ~George Bernard Shaw

Business Owner
Sedalia MO

Art Museum Educator
Sedalia MO

Vicki Weaver, Daum Museum curator of education, received a BS in art education and a BFA from
Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, and an MFA from University of Arizona, Tempe. She has
worked at the Daum since 2000, and her position includes oversight of the museum's education
program. Weaver was named Museum Art Educator of the year by the Missouri Arts Educator
Association in 2008. She served on the Missouri Arts Council Advisory Panel for Arts Education from
2008-2012. She has completed level three professional development training in Visual Thinking
Strategies, a practice she is implementing at the Daum and with educators in central Missouri; she is a
certified VTS lead trainer. Weaver is also a sculptor who has exhibited extensively in the Southwest and
throughout Missouri. This is her 4 th year serving on the Liberty Center board.

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." --- Rumi

Newspaper Advertising Dir.
Sedalia MO
jmwhite75@hotmail.com

Julie White has served as a board member since 2019. Julie is the Advertising Director at the Sedalia Democrat and Warrensburg Star-Journal. She graduated from State-Fair Community College and the University of Central Missouri. She brings many years of experience in marketing and advertising, networking solutions, and a love for all things art and music. Raised in the "Big Sky" country, but a native of our community since 1990.

"Alone we can do so little; Together we can do so much. ~Helen Keller